Large corporations, especially in the pharmaceutical and biotech world, play a very important role in anchoring an innovation ecosystem. The most notable activity of these corporations is perhaps their role as an investor in and buyer of innovation – an exit partner. However, attracting and concentrating talent, and providing access to resources and experts are also vital elements of a healthy entrepreneurial community that big pharma brings with its presence. Corporate venture funds, which can serve as a vehicle for big pharma to make riskier/earlier investments, continue to find their way into more and more biotech venture rounds every year.

Toronto, looking to ramp up commercialization of its world-class research and put its name on the map as a life science powerhouse, will host the RESI conference for the third time as a part of the Toronto Health Innovation Week and welcome a panel of Corporate Venture investors. This increasingly important investor class will discuss trends in the space, their current interests, and how entrepreneurs can best prepare to pitch to and work with a group like theirs.

By registering for RESI on MaRS, you’ll be able to listen to the Corporate Venture Capital panel live and learn how to position yourself to work with this type of group as well as interact with the a range of investors and entrepreneurs and experience numerous opportunities to expand your network in the life sciences.

Medical device innovation is known for being a challenging area for raising capital. Given the timelines and capital requirements involved, as well as the increasing consolidation of the major firms that make up the exit landscape for devices, entrepreneurs may find it difficult to build their investment story. However, LSN is in contact with hundreds of investors who are seeking deals in the device space, either for purely return-driven investments or for adding to a strategic pipeline. At RESI, we aim to bridge the gap between early stage device firms and investors and help entrepreneurs close those ‘last three feet’ to make deals.

At RESI on MaRS, we welcome a Medical Device Investors panel featuring experienced investors from across North America, including both strategic players and financially-driven venture investors who will explore and elucidate the world of early stage device investment from every angle. The panel will be moderated by Sam Ifergan, President & CEO, iGan Partners, and the participants are:

With RESI San Francisco less than a month away, we are proud to announce the Medical Device investors panel, where 5 seasoned experts in medical device investments will discuss how they seek to work with early-stage medical technology entrepreneurs.

The fundraising process and path to commercialization for medical device products continue to be a rigorous challenge for many budding companies. Especially with the exponential growth of the IoT/IoMT market, a growing number of entrepreneurs are focusing on the development of connected, “smarter” devices that incorporate a software or data component. Although often overshadowed by the biopharmaceutical industry in terms of degree of need or financial returns, the medical device sector is a very much needed area in the improvement of healthcare.

If you are a medical device entrepreneur and heading to San Francisco for JPM week, you do not want to miss out on our RESI Medical Devices panel! Our panelists are:

Hot Mandates

The firm is focused on therapeutics companies and does not invest in medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health. The firm is open to considering assets of very early stages, even those as early as lead optimization phase. The firm considers various modalities, including antibodies, small molecules, and cell therapy. Currently, the firm is not interested in gene therapy. Indication-wise, the firm is most interested in oncology and autoimmune diseases but has recently looked at fibrotic diseases and certain rare diseases as well.

The firm is opportunistic across all subsectors of healthcare. Within MedTech, the firm is most interested in medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile health. The firm is seeking post-prototype innovations that are FDA cleared or are close to receiving clearance. Within therapeutics, the firm is interested in therapeutics for large disease markets such as oncology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The firm is open to all modalities with a special interest in immunotherapy and cell therapy.

A strategic investment firm of a large global pharmaceutical makes investments ranging from $5 million to $30 million, acting either as a sole investor or within a syndicate. The firm is open to considering therapeutic opportunities globally, but only if the company is pursuing a market opportunity in the USA and is in dialogue with the US FDA.

The firm is currently looking for new investment opportunities in enterprise software, medical devices, and the healthcare IT space. The firm will invest in 510k devices and healthcare IT companies, and it is very opportunistic in terms of indications. In the past, the firm was active in medical device companies developing dental devices, endovascular innovation devices, and women’s health devices.

A venture capital firm founded in 2005 has multiple offices throughout Asia, New York, and San Diego. The firm has closed its fifth fund in 2017 and is currently raising a sixth fund, which the firm is targeting to be the largest fund to date. The firm continues to actively seek investment opportunities across a […]

Featured: All About Innovation Challenge

Companies from all categories of life science are encouraged to apply to Innovation Challenge for RESI Healthtech Week. Eligible companies can apply to Day 1 the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering, Day 2 RESI Global Partnering or both. Applicants will have the opportunity for excellent visibility among investors and strategic partners.

By Samuel Rubin, Business Development Manager, LSN For the first time this fall, Life Science Nation (LSN) will have two days of competition as part of the RESI Healthtech Week (September 5-7, 2018). Day 1 will feature the First Coast Innovation Challenge, where the top 10 ranked companies of the First Coast tech hubs will present […]

By Jessica Yang, Investor Research Analyst, LSN On June 4th, more than 700 scientist-entrepreneurs and investors entered the exhibition hall at Boston Marriott Copley Place to participate in the RESI conference. They were greeted by 30 Innovation Challenge finalists across therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and digital health sectors. The 30 companies, evaluated by LSN’s expert […]

By James Huang, Research Analyst, LSN We are excited to showcase the top RESI Innovation Challenge startup applicants, who will be taking part in the poster presentation showcase at the second annual RESI BIO held in Boston this year, alongside the BIO International conference. These handpicked companies represent the key sectors of the healthcare space […]

An interview with Steven ten Holder, COO, Acorn Biolabs – By Greg Mannix, VP of International Business Development, LSN This year’s 2nd place finisher at the Innovation Challenge at RESI on MaRS was Acorn Biolabs. LSN interviewed COO, Steven ten Holder and got some key takeaways on how Acorn used the RESI Innovation Challenge effectively: […]